Each design I create is different, the reason being the variety of requirements, tastes and aspirations of my clients. Besides the overall thrill of being involved with the process of creating a beautiful sailing yacht, one of the more pleasurable aspects for designer and client alike is the regular meetings that enable the design concept and specifications to be tailored to fit the client's goals. With a team of experienced and professional people the process of putting the elements of the design on to paper offers one of the more memorable aspects of the client's involvement with his yacht.

After the preliminary formalities, one starts to get a feeling for what the client really wants his yacht to do, how he will relate to it, what sizes and spaces he is most comfortable with and so on. This triggers off the gestation process of the new design.

The traditional yacht designer often worked on the assumption that he, and perhaps the builder, were the best if not the only judges of what the client really wanted; an attitude which may have turned off a number of potential owners. I give a high priority to tailoring my design to the client's requirements.

The yachts described in this book were primarily successful due to establishing a close working relationship between my clients and the design team. The only measure of success is to what extent the client feels we have fulfilled his wishes.

All too often an overall length is chosen prematurely. This can constrain the client's most important requirement which is an interior arrangement with practical and compatible spaces. It is better to start with this requirement, and once suitable interior and deck layouts have been defined, develop a hull shape that does not restrict the interior volume and incorporates lines that achieve a balance between beauty, performance and sea kindliness.